Corporate Giving
Dean Foods Foundation
Through the Dean Foods Foundation and our other corporate giving initiatives, we strive to touch the lives of families in our communities by partnering with organizations that work to prevent childhood hunger and teach at-risk youth and children about the importance of nutrition.
Please click the Programs tab below for more information on our giving focus areas and examples of our support.
To access detailed grant guidelines, click the Grant Guidelines tab.
At Dean Foods, we support organizations and programs that ensure children in our communities have access to the healthy foods they need to grow and thrive, and that enhance their understanding of the importance of a balanced, nutritious diet - now and throughout their lives.
Ending Childhood Hunger
More than 12 million American children live with hunger every day. In addition to devastating physical effects, research shows that hungry children suffer developmentally. Even mild hunger during critical growth periods can impact a young child's behavior, school performance and cognitive development. Dean Foods supports programs and organizations that work to prevent childhood hunger and its effects, and provide hungry kids with access to healthy foods.
We are proud to partner with organizations like the North Texas Food Bank and Feeding America, which work to provide healthy foods to children in need.
Teaching the Value of Nutrition
Nutrition-related health issues that once were considered adult concerns, including diabetes, heart disease and obesity, are now prevalent among our nation's children. Part of our giving philosophy includes education that emphasizes nutrition, balance and moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle. To that end, we support organizations that teach at-risk children and youth the importance of maintaining a nutritious diet that includes dairy products, and that provide them with knowledge and skills to do so.
As an example, we currently work with Children's Medical Center Dallas through the Dean Foods LEAN (Lifestyle, Education and Nutrition) Families Program, which treats overweight and obese children and their families to change lifestyles and combat the devastating health effects of obesity. We also work with Mi Escuelita in Dallas to provide valuable nutrition education materials and programs to at-risk pre-schoolers.
These are just a few examples of how Dean Foods works hand-in-hand with organizations to create stronger, healthier communities.
Dean Foods Foundation supports organizations that:
- Are engaged in programs falling clearly under one or both of our program areas
- Are charitable in purpose
- Are established 501(c)(3)s, or are fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3)
- Have a broad purpose and impact (are not just for personal benefit)
- Are sustainable (have other sources of funding and are financially stable)
- Are effective (have a history of excellence and credibility in the field)
- Have been operating and providing relevant programs/services for at least three years
- Operate in compliance with Dean Foods non-discrimination policy
- Impact the Dallas, Texas, area (home to our corporate headquarters) or are national in Scope.
Partner Profile: North Texas Food Bank
It's hard to imagine that children in our community go to sleep hungry. To combat this, Dean Foods seeks out partnerships with non-profit organizations like the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) that share our philosophy of eradicating hunger among children. As part of the Feeding America network, the NTFB supports the nutritional needs of children, families and seniors through education, advocacy and strategic partnerships.
They currently distribute donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of 1,093 feeding programs in 13 North Texas counties. For many years, our Dallas dairies have generously donated products to NTFB, while our corporate office provides financial support and sponsorship of the annual Empty Bowls event. On a more personal level, Dean Foods employees regularly sponsor food drives and volunteer their time for this important cause. In September 2009 alone, more than 50 percent of our Dallas corporate employees volunteered at the Food Bank as part of Hunger Action Month. For more information visit www.ntfb.org.
